Blenheim Orange' Dessert Apple Tree - Bare Root

It will be delivered within 2-3 working days if ordered before 3pm (Mon-Fri)

Delivery £4.99 per order, no matter how many items you order -
more info

We can usually deliver to all areas of mainland UK for our standard delivery charge of
£4.99

Some items may incur an additional charge for Northern Ireland, Scottish Highlands and Islands.
You will be contacted for additional payment should these charges apply to your order.
Please request a price for delivery to non-UK destinations by contacting us.

Plants have a delivery charge set by each nursery which may exceed
£4.99, however you will not be charged any
extra delivery costs for additional items on your order.

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a returns number send the item back to us.

We've got 1 in stock. You can order anyway and we'll send the rest at a later date

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Discounts for quantity

x1

£17.99

each

x2+

£15.00

each

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'Blenheim Orange' Dessert Apple Tree - Root Wrapped

Blenheim Orange Apple is a very vigorous deciduous tree which produces an abundance of white-pink flowers in spring, followed by heavy crops of greenish yellow to orange fruits that are streaked with red when ripe. The fruits have a nutty, slightly sour yet sweet flavour and a crispy texture, making them perfect for eating raw or for processing into a tasty, stiff purée for pies, crumbles and preserves. The vigorous tree is slow to come into crop but then produces heavily. The fresh fruits store well, providing a good supply even until late winter. 'Blenheim Orange' has been awarded the Award of Garden Merit given by the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), which helps gardeners make informed choices about plants.

Water young trees regularly until roots are well established. Trim annually from mid to late summer. Apply some fertilizer in spring in order to promote healthy growth and a good crop. Optionally, mulch in spring. Check tree ties regularly and loosen any if necessary to avoid rubbing of the stems.

Planting

Planting Distance: 2.4m - 3.6m with 4.5m between rows

Suited to almost all well-drained and moderately fertile soils with pH between 6.5 and 7.5 in a sheltered, full sun or partial shade location. Before planting your tree, clean up all wandering weeds and keep a clean ring around the tree base. Water well during the first year until well established.

Autumn is the best season for planting fruiting trees, as the soil moisture and heat allow easier and faster root establishment and regeneration of damaged root systems.

Pollination

Pollination Group: 3 (triploid)

Fruit trees will only produce fruit if their flowers have been pollinated. This is usually done by flying insects such as honey bees, bumblebees, flies, wasps etc. This tree is not self pollinating and it is also a triploid, it therefore requires two other trees nearby. They all must be of the same fruit, but of a different variety, that flowers during the same period. The trees will have to be near each other for the pollination process to be successful. The general consensus is that the trees should be within 18m (55ft) of each other. To make things a bit easier fruit trees are categorised into different pollination groups. Just remember that the fruit must be of the same species but of a different variety; only an apple tree can pollinate another apple tree. However, if you buy two of these 'Blenheim Oranges' they will not pollinate each other.

These pollination groups are numbered 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 or 6, according to flowering time. Best results will be obtained if one tree is planted near another apple tree of the same group, or from a group on either side (so an ideal pollination partner for group 3 would be one in group 2,3 or 4).

Please note: triploid trees need at least two other trees in order to pollinate and produce fruit. They will also not cross pollinate another nearby tree.

Fruit Benefits

These fruits taste best when freshly picked from their branches. They please even the most sophisticated of palates, and can be made into jams and preserves to bring great summer memories on autumn or winter days. Fruit plants are a valuable addition to any garden, bearing in mind that they do not only provide fruits, but also make a bold statement in garden arrangements by producing clouds of pink and white flowers, which at the slightest breeze fall like raindrops. When planning your garden, try to choose varieties with fruits that ripen from early summer to late autumn to ensure a constant supply of fresh fruits throughout the warmer months.

Fruit Tree Rootstocks

Fruit trees are generally budded or grafted onto a rootstock by the nursery, this means the roots of the tree are a different plant to the trunk, branches and fruit. Effectively sticking two plants together, one that has good roots and one that has good fruit, ensures that you get what you pay for. Plants raised from seed will vary from the parent plants and there will be a wide variation in the size or shape of a tree and the quality and quantity of fruit it produces. Another result of budding and grafting a variety onto selected rootstocks is the ability to control the size of the tree to a certain degree. However, the size that a fruit tree ultimately grows to is dependent on a number of factors:

The fruit variety ( i.e. Apple Braeburn)

How it’s pruned

Soil type

Position

Its rootstock

Some varieties of tree are naturally more vigorous than others, so this will affect how much they grow each year. For instance a Bramley Apple seedling will naturally grow bigger than a Cox’s Orange Pippin Apple seedling. The correct pruning will also help to control the size of tree, as well as encouraging it to produce flower buds from which fruit develop.

This is a typical example of our root wrapped trees that you will receive - note the fruit/ornamental trees we stock will vary in appearance according to species and season. Please be aware that the compost around the roots is there just to keep them moist and will fall away when unwrapped, leaving a bare-rooted plant. You can mix this compost with your soil when planting your tree.